At the beginning of winter, each slave had one pair of coarse shoes and stockings, one pair of pantaloons, and a jacket.

At the beginning of summer, he had two pair of coarse linen pantaloons and two shirts.

Once in a number of years, each slave, or each man and his wife, had one coarse blanket and enough coarse linen for a “bed-tick.”  He never had any bedstead or other furniture kind.  The men had no hats, waistcoats or handkerchiefs given them, or the women any bonnets.  These they had to contrive for themselves.  Each labouring man had a small “patch” of ground allowed him; from this he was expected to furnish himself and his boys hats, &c.  These patches they had to work by night; from these, also, they had to raise their own provisions, as no potatoes, cabbage, &c., were allowed them from the plantation.  Years ago the slaves were in the habit of raising broom-corn, and making brooms to supply the market in the towns; but now of later years great quantities of these and other articles, such as scrubbing-brushes, wooden trays, mats, baskets, and straw hats which the slaves made, are furnished by the shakers and other small manufacturers, from the free states of the north.

Neither my master or any other master, within my acquaintance, made any provisions for the religious instruction of his slaves.  They were not worked on the Sabbath.  One of the “boys” was required to stay at home and “feed,” that is, take care of the stock, every Sabbath; the rest went to see their friends.  Those men whose families were on other plantations usually spent the Sabbath with them; some would lie about at home and rest themselves.

When it was pleasant weather my master would ride “into town” to church, but I never knew him to say a word to one of us about going to church, or about our obligations to God, or a future state.  But there were a number of pious slaves in our neighbourhood, and several of these my master owned; one of these was an exhorter.  He was not connected with a religious body, but used to speak every Sabbath in some part of the neighbourhood.  When slaves died, their remains were usually consigned to the grave without any ceremony; but this old gentleman, wherever he heard of a slave having been buried in that way, would send notice from plantation to plantation, calling the slaves together at the grave on the Sabbath, where he’d sing, pray, and exhort.  I have known him to go ten or fifteen miles voluntarily to attend these services.  He could not read, and I never heard him refer to any Scripture, and state and discourse upon any fundamental doctrine of the gospel; but he knew a number of “spiritual songs by heart,” of these he would give two lines at a time very exact, set and lead the tune himself; he would pray with great fervour, and his exhortations were amongst the most impressive I have heard.

The Methodists at one time attempted to evangelize the slaves in our neighbourhod, but the effort was sternly resisted by the masters.  They held a Camp Meeting in the neighbourhood, where many of the slaves attended.  But one of their preachers for addressing words of comfort to the slaves, was arrested and tried for his life.